Sunday, October 17, 2010

"This," defensive tackle Kaniela Tuipulotu said in a euphoric locker room, "was for all of our doubters. We can play some damn good football. Nevada came in ranked 19th, but we played as one. That's the most important number."

Corey Paredes talked about forcing a fumble just before Colin Kaepernick crossed the goal line in the 3rd quarter:

"I thought he was going to get in, and I ran as fast as I could," Paredes said. "He 'Hollywood-ed' it. He was holding the ball with one hand. Luckily it was the near hand. I got there, and knocked the ball out, and they called it a touchback. ... If I'm making a tackle and I have a hand on the football, the ball is coming out."

Nevada went for 293 yards of total offense, well down from its average of 545.33 that ranked second in the country entering the game. Nevada was held without a first down until its fifth drive.

"It's a scary offense. There's so many things you have to stop in that offense," UH defensive coordinator Dave Aranda said. "It preys on guys being indecisive. Guys being cued to wrong alignments, tied to the wrong spot. So I give all the credit to the players. They really focused in, and there was a plan, it had some complexity, they bought in and the players had a great night tonight."

On this balmy Halawa evening the pistol was a misfiring Saturday Night Not Very Special, as the Warriors blanked the Wolf Pack in the first half, forcing Nevada to play from behind for the first time all season.

And, most importantly, the defense gave the offense the ball.

Turnovers made the ultimate difference, with UH taking it away four times. The Warriors cashed in on one for a score, but it turned out to be enough, and the other Nevada fumbles and interceptions came at crucial times.

It was a little less than a year ago when Moniz emerged from the locker room outside Mackay Stadium in Reno, Nev., the redness in his eyes betraying the ache in his heart.

Two critical interceptions had left him despondent after an early Warriors lead dissolved into a 10-point loss to the Wolf Pack.

"I remember that game last year and I was at probably my lowest point since I've been here," Moniz said following a redemptive 27-21 victory at Aloha Stadium. "I felt like I lost the game for the team. So it was a big win for us today."

Call it "The Play" — a John Hirokawa-worthy escape and 37-yard pass to Salas that set up the Warriors' final touchdown with 5 minutes, 27 seconds left — because both Nevada and UH did.

"It might have been 'The Play' of the season, offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich said. "The Play" of the game, for sure, acknowledged Nevada defensive end Dontay Moch, who was unable to close the deal for the Wolf Pack.

Tripped and seemingly trapped in the backfield by the onrushing Moch, the reigning WAC defensive player of the year, on first down and 15 at the UH 49-yard line, Moniz somehow — and even he struggled to find the words to explain it — eluded a sack to get off the pass to Salas.

4. Hawaii is for real. Start paying attention to the team on the islands, because it is starting to resemble some of those high-flying Warriors teams we have come to know. Hawaii upset No. 19 Nevada 27-21 late Saturday night in a game that ended past 2:30 a.m. EDT, but it was well worth it if you stayed up and watched. Nevada was able to slow down Hawaii in the second half, but Bryant Moniz came up with the big plays when he needed to and outplayed Colin Kaepernick.

The first thing tomorrow morning, Greg McMackin needs to go into Jim Donovan's office and demand a raise and contract extention ... for coordinators Nick Rolovich and Dave Aranda. Both have done exceptional work this season, and both deserve multi-year contracts.

It was apparent early in the game that the Wolf Pack were the hunted. They played timid off the line and were getting beat off the block. The first three series, it was three and out, fumble, three and out. It was completely unlike Nevada, which had bolted out to terrific starts all season. The Pack had never trailed in any game, and they had scored on their first possession every time in their perfect 6-0 start. In total, Nevada had outscored their opponents 80-38 in the first quarter.

But Hawaii was having none of that. Like everyone expected heading into the game, the Warriors were going to be fired up. They knew this Nevada team was the last ranked team that would play during the regular season at Aloha Stadium, so it was really simple for them.

Last night's win gave UH special teams coordinator and former Nevada head coach Chris Tormey a victory over his former employer.

"It's huge, not just for me but this whole program," Tormey said. "It shows we're on the right track and it was a great effort by the defense in particular, and the offense stepped up and made some huge plays and on special teams we have some work to do."